Vegetable cooling spray



Oct. ll, 1938.l

J. v. c. T, CHRISTENSEMJR VEGETABLE COOLING SPRAY Filed sept. 15, 195s Patented Oct. 11, 1938 VEGETABLE.v oooLING SPRAY' Jakob v. CLT. Christensen, Jr., Ysierra Madre, Calif., assigner to Cecile W. Christensen, Los

Angeles, Calif.

Application September 13, 1933, Serial No. 689,244 A 6 Claims.v v(Cl. 299-58) The present invention relates generally to'spray devices, and more particularly to those used to send out a very line spray of water to wet and cool vegetables on a display stand. Devices of this character are generally placed `centrally of about and spaced above the dispersing surface.

! to have the water stream strike at the proper the display stand, and usually comprise a nozzle emitting a very fine stream of water and a dispersing surface upon which the stream impinges. Upon striking this surface, the stream of water is broken up into minute drops which spread out over the stand and settle upon the vegetables.

A diiiiculty encountered in former devices where a flat, horizontal surface is provided'for the vertically moving stream to strike against, is that a portion of the stream is broken up into drops so fine as to form a cloud or mist that, instead of quickly settling onto the vegetables, remains suspended in the air for a short time and is easily blown away by air currents. This not only fails to cool the vegetables, but is objectionable to persons nearby. A large partici the rest of the watercollects in large drops that fall in one place and so are not beneficially distributed. Also, in prior devices where the dispersing surface is of limited extent,rit may not be accurately alined with the water stream so as to give the best spraying results; and the rigidity of the parts makes diflcult any adjusting movement of the surface.

It thus becomes a general object of my invention to provide a device that breaks up the entire water stream into a downwardly directed spray, causing it to settle quickly upon the vegetables and yet spread evenly over a large area. Such a spray keeps the vegetables uniformly cool.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means for properly positioning the dispersing surface, so that the surface and the nozzle can easily be alined after installation to secure the desired results.

In a device characteristic of my invention, I provide a dispersing member having an indented dispersing surface against which the water stream strikes, and by virtue of the shape of the surface is prevented from becoming too widely diffused in the surrounding air. I also provide a flange This flange cooperates with the inwardly curved surface to direct the spray downwardly as well as outwardly so that the water settles quickly onto the vegetables.

This dispersing member is supported by a frame l member made of pliant material which can be relatively easily bent to bring the curved surface into proper vertical alinement with the nozzle point. Y justability; I preferably mount' the dispersing member for movement toward and away frcmthel nozzle.

AI-Iow the above and other objects and advantages of my invention are attained-will be more readily understood by reference to the following description and the annexed drawing wherein I describe and illustrate a present preferred embodiment of my invention. l

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a spray device constructed in accord with my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 but sho-wing a double-ended dispersing pin;

' Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectiono-n lline 3-3 of In the preferred embodiment of my inventionv illustrated in Figs. l to- 3, the spray comprises acap I0 attached to water supply pipe I2 by means of an adapter I4 which accommodates various threads and sizes of water supply pipe aswill be understood.y On top of cap I0 is nozzle I5 threaded or pressed into the cap and provided with ay longitudinal bore I6 through which the jet of water issues. Wings I3 are formed on cap III so that cap may be turned down like a thumbscrew. 'I'o strain vout impurities that might tend to close bore I6, thereV is provided a fine wire screen I8 held between a pair of washers'l9, 20 within the body of the cap. Adapter I4 is screw-threaded intocap I and holds the screen and washer assembly in place as illustrated inv Fig. 3.

Integral with cap I0, is frame member 22 having at its upper end a horizontally extending portion formed at its extremity with disc 24. The dispersing member, here in the form of pin 28, isl preferably threaded into the end of frame member 22 to be supported thereby and passes centrally of disc 24. Disc 24 acts asl a shield to stop thev stream of water should it not initially strike the end of pin 28. l

As illustrated best in Fig. 2, the lower end of pin- 28 is indented to `form a concave surface 30 against which the water stream hits. Since an even distribution of water in all directions is desired, the end of pin 28 is. circular in cross section, though any other shape might be used if desired. A short distance above its end, pin 28 is formed with an annular shoulder or flange 32 PATENT orrplplfclazill Asan additional vmeansfof securing adj tributed in all directions.

of sufficiently greater radius than the end of the pin to overhang or project beyond surface 30 about its entire circumference. Pin 28 in Fig. 2 is the same as in Fig. 1, except that the top end of the pin is provided with a dispersing surface 30a of different contour than and interchangeable with surface 30 by reversing the pin.

Frame 22 is` made of some pliant material, by which is meant that it is made of a substance possessing sufficient rigidity to remain secure-ly in adjusted position but which is, at the same time, relatively easily bent so that pin 28 may be moved into proper alinement with nozzle l5. Manufacturing cost may be materially reduced if it is not necessary that the several operations insure accurate alinement between the bore of nozzle l5 and dispersing surface on pin- 28, but that after installation, member 22 may be slightly bent or twisted to` accurately aline the vdispersing pin.

In the case of a single spray device as illustrated here, frame 22 will generally be integral with or supported by cap I0; but where a series of such spraying devices are formed, as in Fig. 5, by a series of nozzles in a pipe, frame members 22 may Abe supported from another member, su'ch as bar 25, in which case installation is made simpler if the frame member itself may be bent to secure proper alinement. Accurate alinement of bore I6 in'nozzle l5 and pin 28 will be seen to be necessary since the end of pin 28 is of not large extent, and particularly because the jet of water issuing from bore I 6 should strike centrally of concave surface 30 in order to be evenly dis- Further adjustment of the position of surface 30 is had by turning pin 28 to move the pin longitudinally relative to its support. 'Ihis Y aids easy alinement, and changes the distance between the pin and nozzle to change the spray. Reversing or changing pins to change surface 30 is also made very simple. However, the dispersing surface might be rigidly attached to the frame support 22 if adjustment is not desired.

Upon striking pin 28, the stream of water is entirely broken up into minute droplets, but the concave nature of surface 3D so confines the spray and directs the air currents that these droplets are forced downwardly as well as outwardly from surface 30, forming a definite downwardly directed conical spray, and so settle upon the vegetables rather than drift away. Within limits, decreasing the radius of curvature of surface 30, which is preferably spherical, tends to accentuate this down-draft effect; however, it is not intended to limit the invention to spherical surfaces 30 and 30a, for it will be understood that a hollowed or indented surface having any contour desired may be used. In this connection, the expression concave as applied to surface 30 contemplates any equivalent indented surface. Restricting the area of the dispersing surface, and concaving it, cause the water stream to be completely broken up, without opportunity for part of the mist to coalesce into large drops that drip off the dispersing surface, as is the case when the stream strikes a flat surface of relatively larger area. As illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, which are to the same scale, the concave impact or dispersing surface 30 is restricted to a diameter substantially eight s times the diameter of the relatively ne discharge orifice I6, a ratio of substantially eight to one between these diameters giving proper and typical performance according to the invention, and being characteristic thereof. This ratio may be in the forni shown is circular.

slightly increased without vitiating the results characteristic of the present invention, but a substantial departure from the ratio given will be found in practice to result in loss of the described definite spray cone and dripless impact pin. It is important to note that the lower end of the impact pin, adjacent the concave end surface, is smooth sided, and that the concave end surface is of the full diameter of the pin end, so as to intersect the smooth side surface of the pin and form a continuous sharp edge 3l (Fig. 2), which This sharp edge 3| is found in practice tof-be essential to the results herein described, and if it accidentally becomes Anicked or mutilated in any Way the uniform downwardly directed spray 'cone is lost, and large drops of water drip from the pin. I accordingly find it necessary to protect this sharp edge after manufacture of the pin, and always pack the assembled device for shipping with a rubber protecting tube slipped on over the pin end.

Although my impro-ved spray will operate Without, it is preferred to use flange 32 which acts as a deflector for the upwardly moving'air carried by the .water stream. lThus shoulder 32 aids the do-wnward movement of air currents carrying the Finely divided water spray onto the vegetables below the device, and helps prevent coalescen'ce of the mist particles. It is preferable that flange 32 be placed slightly .above surface 30,i. e., spaced from the surface in the direction of streamflow from nozzle I5,

A simplified form of the spray is shown in Fig. 4,

wherein frame member 22 supports shield 24,

and the shield is provided with an integral pin or boss 35 having its. lower surface concaved at 30h to form a `dispersing surface against which the stream of water strikes. The lower surface of shield 24 acts as a deflecting shoulder to turn the air currents downwardly, and flange 32 is omitted. As described before, frame 22 is pliable so that surface 30h may be properly alined with the stream issuing from nozzle l5.

Having described certain typical forms of my invention, it will be understood that changes in form and construction will readily appear to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention, so that the appended claims are to be considered as illustrative of rather than restrictive upon my invention.

I claim:

l. In a liquid spray device having a nozzle adapted to discharge a needle-like stream of water, a pin member mounted in line with said nozzle, said pin member presenting toward the nozzle a smooth-sided end portion having a concave impact end surface which intersects the smooth side surfaces of the pin end in a continuous unbroken sharp edge, the diameter of said pin end and concave impact surface being relatively small but being larger than the water stream impinging thereon, said impact surface deflecting they stream of water and forming a conical spray directed back towards the nozzle'.

2. In a liquid spray device having a nozzle adapted to discharge a needle-like stream of water, a pin member mounted in line with said nozzle, said pin member having a smooth-sided end portion, of diameter substantially eight times the diameter of the nozzle orifice, said end portion having a concave impact end surface, of diameter larger than the water stream impinging thereon, which concave surface intersects the smooth side surfaces of the pin end in a continuous unbroken sharp edge, said impact surface deflecting `the stream of water and forming a conical spray directed back towards the nozzle.

3. In a liquid spray device having a nozzle adapted to discharge a needle-like stream of Water, a pin member mounted in line With said nozzle, Said pin member presenting toward the nozzle a smooth-sided end portion having a concave impact end surface which lintersects the smooth side surfaces of the pin end in a continuous unbroken sharp edge, the diameter or said pin end and concave impact surface being'relatively small but being larger than the Water stream impinging thereon, said impact surface deflecting the stream of water and forming a conical spray directed back towards the nozzle, and a single deformable arm supporting said pin member, said arm being adapted to be easily bent in any direction to aline the impact surface with. the stream of water or to vary the direction of the spray cone.

4. In a liquid spray device having a nozzle adapted to discharge a needle-like stream of Water, a pin member mounted on line with said nozzle, .said pin member presenting toward the nozzle a smooth-sided end portion having a concave impact end surface which vintersects the smooth side surfaces of the pin end in a continuous unbroken sharp edge, the diameter of said pin end and concave impact surface being relatively small but being larger than the water stream impinging thereon, said impact surface deflecting the: stream of Water and forming a conical spray directed back towards the nozzle, and a ilange on the pin end spaced a relatively short distance from the impact surface.

5. 1n a liquid spray device having a nozzle adapted to discharge a needle-like stream of water, an impact member mounted in line with said nozzle, said impact member presenting toward the nozzle a circular indented impact surface of relatively small diameter but larger than the diameter of the water stream impinging thereon, said -indented impact surface being 'bounded by a continuous unbroken sharp edge formed by the intersection of said impact sur lface with a smooth circular bounding surface which is substantially parallel to the direction of the water stream impinging on the impact surface, said impact surface deflecting the water stream and forming a conical spray directed back towards the nozzle.

6. A spraying device comprising a single substantially U-shaped bracket arm, the end of one leg thereof being provided with means forl threadedly receiving a liquid supply conduit and also with a nozzle disposed in` alignment with the liquid supply conduit, the end of the other leg of nozzle being arranged in direct alignment whereby the point of deection of the spray may be adjusted, the portion of said U-shaped bracket arm opposite the entire range of adjustment of said plug being disposed suiiiciently remote from the .plug to prevent any substantial obstruction of the spray.

JAKOB V. C. T. CHRISTENSENVJR. 

